Sicily's south-east has long since made a name for itself among cyclists. Outside the summer season, the island is ideal for ambitious cyclists. A dense network of secluded roads criss-crosses the mountainous hinterland. Directly on the coast, however, there are only a few sections without traffic.
Journey
Flight: Catania is regularly served by various charter airlines. Important for bike transport: The bike must be packed for the return flight. A regulation of the airport! Further travel connections are best looked up under: www.skyscanner.de/nachrichten/fahrradmitnahme-im-flieger-alle-infos-auf-einen-blick
Travel planning
We used the freytag & berndt map of Sicily (1:150,000) for planning and local orientation. The guide "Sicily by bike" by Carmen Fischer and Helmut Walter, published by Wolfgang Kettler Verlag, is also helpful. The two describe 75 daily stages that can be individually combined.
You can find the GPX track for the tour here:
Accommodation tips
South-west Sicily has an abundance of accommodation options. Modern tourist portals such as Tripadvisor.com, airbnb.com and bedandbreakfast.eu facilitate the geo-referenced search that is so important for cyclists.
Our nicest accommodation was the agritourism "Le Chiuse di Guadagna", www.lechiusediguidagna.it
The Colle Acre Hotel in Palazzolo Acreide proved to be an extremely bike-friendly hotel, www.hotelcolleacre.it
The Pietre Nere bike hotel near Ragusa is also top, www.pietrenereresort.it
Travel guide
The digital editions of the Sicily travel guides from "Reise Know-How" and "Michael Müller" were valuable reference works for us. The wealth of cultural assets is enormous and the authors' points of view are quite different. www.reise-know-how.de
Wheels and equipment
Sicily does not make excessive demands on the bikes. A good gear ratio (derailleur gears) is important for the mountainous terrain. Our route is exclusively on tarmac roads. Only a short stretch of pushing (15 minutes) is on gravel.
More info
Recommended: www.medinbike.eu
If you would like to extend the cycle tour to the lonely west as far as Palermo, we recommend the Travel report from TREKKINGBIKE 2/2014 recommended.
Diary
Editor-in-chief Tom Bierl kept a detailed diary during his trip - 36 pages with lots of photos and other tips
